The Mount Sinai School of Medicine (MSSM) proposes to continue and expand a highly successful training program in Cellular and Molecular Biology (CMB) for predoctoral fellows. This program reflects an expansion of CMB relevant research at MSSM, which has experienced a large growth in NIH funding over the past 8 years. The training program reflects an integral component of the institution's Graduate Program, in which training mentors play key leadership roles. The program encompasses a laboratory-based, multidisciplinary predoctoral training in cellular and molecular biology. To current grant supports four predoctoral trainees. The program has demonstrated the ability to attract and develop a cadre of outstanding PhD and MD/PhD students in CMB focused research and attracts an increasing number of students to the laboratories of the CMB training faculty to conduct their predoctoral thesis research. The added component would include 2 predoctoral fellows to be added at the second and third year of the funding period. The training faculty consists of 52 preceptors from 15 departments throughout Mount Sinai. Of these faculty members, all have peer-reviewed support from NIH and other extramural agencies. The curriculum for the predoctoral trainees involves some core elements including advanced course work in cellular and molecular biology, as well as genetics and genomics and related structural studies. There will also be a specific training element and exposure to Stem Cell research and other medically highly relevant research areas. The training program includes a rigorous evaluation and selection process for trainees, and the program is both cognizant of and actively involved in minority recruitment. The CMB training program combines cutting edge research with a high standard academic curriculum, and many interfaces with the clinical side to highlight the relevance of the basic research training to medical applications. The trainees will work closely with faculty drawn from throughout Mount Sinai and ensuring that the trainees' research is both comprehensive in scope and broad to cover all relevant areas of the CMB training program. [unreadable] [unreadable]